The Central government is contemplating a crucial amendment to the TRAI Act, 1997, with the aim of expanding the pool of potential candidates for key regulatory roles. This proposed amendment would set specific criteria allowing senior corporate executives to assume the position of Chairperson of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Under the forthcoming Telecommunications Bill, the contemplated changes may establish that the TRAI’s Chairperson can be selected from the private sector. According to insiders, the eligibility criteria for this position may require candidates from the private sector to have held board positions or served as chief executive officers, with a minimum of 30 years of professional experience.
This amendment would essentially modify Section 4 of the TRAI Act, 1997, which empowers the Central government to appoint the Chairperson and members of the regulatory body with “special knowledge of, and professional experience in, telecommunication, industry, finance, accountancy, law, management, or consumer affairs.”
Historically, there have been no appointments from the private sector for this role due to the absence of clearly defined eligibility criteria. However, sources suggest that the contemplated changes signify TRAI’s evolution as a regulator and its potential effectiveness under private sector leadership.
Currently, TRAI members must have held the position of Secretary or Additional Secretary to the Government of India, or an equivalent post in the central or state government, for at least three years. However, no specific rules exist for the appointment of the Chairperson.
Although the TRAI Act technically allowed for the appointment of a Chairperson from the private sector, concerns about potential conflicts of interest have prevented such appointments in the past. Nonetheless, the current considerations reflect a shifting perspective within the Central government towards opening key regulatory roles to private sector professionals.
The current TRAI Chairperson, P D Vaghela, is a Gujarat-cadre IAS officer who previously served as the Secretary of the Department of Pharmaceuticals. His predecessor, R S Sharma, a Jharkhand-cadre 1978-batch IAS officer, held the position of IT Secretary from 2014 to 2015.
TRAI’s inaugural Chairperson, S S Sodhi, served from 1997 to 2000 and was a former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court. The second Chairperson, M S Verma, who retired in 2003, was the former Chairman of the State Bank of India. To date, they are the only two non-IAS officers who have held the position of TRAI Chairperson.
